The infield for the 1919 World Champion Reds was (left to right) first baseman Jake Daubert, third baseman Heinie Groh, shortstop Larry Kopf and second baseman Morrie Rath.

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So, the Cincinnati Reds had this new player at a critical defensive position who had virtually no power, but could run and really field and was being counted on to do both, because the team had underachieved the previous season.

The Reds had a new manager who recognized the talents of this unproven player, and told him that the team could really use him to step up and hit leadoff. The new player didn't have to carry the team - there were two to three other players, real stars, who would hit after him who could do that.

So the new manager told his new player: Do anything you can to get on base, and field your ...